Alonzo hitchcock



UNITED STATES ALONZO HITCHCOCK,

PATENT OFFICE.

0E NEW xoax, Y.

FORGING C ANNONS Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.49,266, dated August 8, 1865; autedated 'July 30, 1865.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, ALONZO HITCHCOCK, of New York, in the county andState of New York, havein vented certain new and useful Improvements inForging Cannon and other Heavy Articles and l do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and-exact description of the saine,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, making a part of thisspecification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

In fagoting up large masses of Wrought-iron or steel for heavy cannonand other large forgings the material is often burned and alwaysdeteriorated in parts by theheating and Work- Y ing of other parts, andfor this reason it has with as little exposure to heating as possible,

to form a perfect cylinder.

The object of my invention is to make a can non or other similar andanalogous forging by combining and welding rings or hoopsin such amanner that the fibers of the metal will be continuous and concentricwith the axis, and the weldin g ofthe rings together consolidates theentire mass without exposing it to the action of the heat except at thepoints where the welding is to be effected, and at the time only when it:is necessary to heat those parts in preparation `for their' junction.'lo effect this object the bottom of the forge or Welding-furnaceconsists of an anvilblock supported bythe ram of a hydrostatic presswhich carries the forging, and is gradually lowered as the rings ofwhich it is composed are successively added and welded tothe mass. Overthe movable top of the furnace is placed a steam hammer of sufficientplay or length ofstroke to reach down into the forge when required.Adjacent to the welding-furnace is another furnace, in which thedetached rings are separately brought to a welding-heat.

out removing the latter fromits furnace. Having thus increased the sizeoftheforging by the addition of one of the rings, the hammer is liftedand the top of the welding-furnace re placed, and the rain of thehydrostatic press is lowered sutlciently to present again only the uppersurface of the forging to the action of the blast of thewelding-furnace, as before described, while another ring is also beingheated in readiness to be Welded to the forging in a similar `manner,and in this Way the rings i are successively added to the forging, andthe latter lowered from the fire untilit has attained sufcientlength forthe purpose desired. By this system of construction the cannon iscomposed of circular fibers disposed in the manner in which thecontinuousrings have been formed, and these rings are successivelywelded and consolidated together and removed from the action of the fireas the cannon is gradually brought to its entire length without exposingany part to the blast except when necessary to weld it to the adjacentpart entering into i the composition of the mass.

To enable others skilled in the arts to which it appertains to make anduse my invention, l will proceed to describe its construction andoperation with reference to the drawing.

The pile a or mass which is being built for the purpose of forming acannon rests on the anvil-blocks, b, which are supported by the platen cand the ram dof a hydrostatic cylinder, e. The upper end of the pileprojects through the bottom of the reverberatory furnace j', of whichthe grate is shown at g. Over the pile and the furnace is thesteam-hammer, h, which has sufficient length of stroke to reach throughthe opening z' in the top of thefurnace and down to the top of thepile.` The separate rings intended to be welded successively''theimpinging currents upon the pile and rings.

Suitable means may also be used to turn the forging when required forthe purpose of regulating the application ofthe heat. When the top ofthe pile in one furnace and the upper ring in the other may have beenbrought to a Welding-heat the blast and dampers are shut oi, thecoverings to the openings in the tops of the furnaces are removed, thering transposed to the top of the pile, and as many blows as may benecessary are struck with the steamhammer to consolidate it with themass. The hammer is then withdrawn, the openings ofthe furnaces closed,the pile lowered bythe hydrostatic press until only its upper surface iseX- posed to the weldingheat,and the rings screwed up until the upperone is similarly exposed, and the action of the furnace is then againre.- sumed until the top of the pile and another ring are again heatedin readiness for welding.

The arrangement and construction of the various yparts may be variedwithout departing from the character of my invention, but I prefer thesystem which Ihave described and represented in the drawing. Thefurnaces may have separate combustion-chambers, and the rings may beheated singly on the oor ofthe furnace and removed through an opening inthe side.

In practicing my invention it is advisable to throw a shovelful offranklinite ore in the grate occasionally, so that the vapor of the zincwhich enters into its composition may combine with the sulphur andother'volatile impurities of the coal and prevent their impairing theiron. The openings through the bottom ofthe furnaces for the passage ofthe pile and the rings should be kept luted with clay, especially whenonly the natural draft of the chimney is used. Both the rings and thetop ofthe pile should be protected with borate of soda or other similariiux. One ot' the sides of the rings should be slightly dished orconvex, so that when its convex side is placed on the flat end of thepilethe scoria and oxide are squeezed tothe exterior with the ux by theaction of the hammer, and the welding of the fagot or pileis commencedat its interior and continued toward the periphery. The hammer should beso heavy or the rings so thin that the entire mass of metal in the ringwill be moved by the force ofthe blow, so that ingots ot' cast-steelmolded in the shape of rings may be Welded and laminated bythe sameoperation and without intermediate manipulation.

The platen or head of the press is provided with suitable guides, andthe anvil-blocks are left loose so that they may be removed on blockingup the pile for the purpose of making a forging equal in length to thedistance be tween the press and the bottom ot' the furnace.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Making acannon or other large forging by welding it in the furnace by theapparatus aud in the method substantially as described.

ALONZO HITCHCOCK.

Witnesses:

DUNHAM J. CRANE, WM. KEMBLE HALL.

